The present invention relates to a system and method for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of a structure having a lumen and, more particularly, to a system and method for automatically analyzing such structures for potential abnormalities.
For many forms of cancer, early detection is essential for a favorable prognosis. A cancerous growth must be detected at an early stage before the cancer is allowed to grow and spread. This is particularly true for colorectal and lung cancers. As a result, endoscopic techniques have been developed to examine the colon and tracheobronchial airways for the growth of precancerous and cancerous masses.
Regarding colorectal cancer, the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute recommend routine screening beginning at age 55 in order to provide a means for early detection of abnormal growths. Under those guidelines over 50 million Americans should undergo annual colorectal screening. However, only about 1.5 million fiberoptic colonoscopies are performed each year. The discrepancy arises, at least in part, because conventional colonoscopies require a patient to be sedated so that a flexible endoscope can be inserted into the patient""s anus. Another problem is that conventional colonoscopies fail to provide access to the entire colon in approximately 15% of cases. Colonoscopies also expose patients to the risk of bowel perforation. Accordingly, it is understandable that patients are reluctant to undergo, or repeatedly subject themselves to, such an invasive procedure.
Consequently, virtual endoscopic techniques have been, and are continuing to be developed. Virtual endoscopy that utilizes computer reformation of radiologic cross-sectional images is a minimally invasive alternative to conventional fiberoptic endoscopy. Virtual endoscopy reduces the risk of perforation, does not require any sedation, and is considerably less expensive than the fiberoptic endoscopy method. For example, virtual colonoscopy techniques generally require bowel cleansing, gas distension of the colon, a 40-60 second spiral computed tomography (CT) scan of a patient""s abdomen and pelvis, and human visual analysis of multi-planar two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images created from CT data.
Although virtual colonoscopy techniques provide excellent images of the colon in three-dimensions, a correct diagnosis hinges upon a physician""s ability to properly identify small (approximately 5-10 mm), and sometimes subtle, masses within hundreds of multiplanar two-dimensional and three-dimensional images. Such human inspection is time consuming, tedious, expensive, and under certain circumstances prone to error of interpretation. Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to provide an automatic virtual endoscopic system and method for automatically analyzing and/or detecting abnormalities, such as abnormal growths, in a targeted structure or organ system, such as the walls of a colon or trachea.
In accordance with the present invention, a computer-implemented method and computer system are provided for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of a structure having a lumen. In a specific application, the method may be utilized for analyzing regions having certain characteristics of wall structure such as thickness or shape to detect, for example, abnormal masses. In accordance with the method of the present invention, a three-dimensional volume of data is formed from a series of two-dimensional images representing at least one physical property associated with the three-dimensional object. An isosurface of a selected region of interest is created in the computer from the volume of data based on selected values of the physical properties representing the selected region of interest. A wireframe model of the isosurface is generated by the computer. The wireframe model is analyzed to detect, by computer, those sections of the object having the selected characteristic such as abnormal wall structure. For example, the wireframe model includes a plurality of vertices. The computer-implemented method groups the vertices of the wireframe model into populations having a characteristic indicating abnormal wall structure. The wireframe model with highlighted abnormal portions is then rendered by the computer into an interactive three-dimensional display on the computer monitor.
In specific applications, the step of grouping the vertices into populations having a characteristic indicating abnormal wall structure is effected by determining a normal vertex for each vertex position of the wireframe model. Next, a connectivity matrix is determined to provide sets of contiguous vertices for each vertex. A wall thickness value associated with each normal vector is determined for each vertex. Local convexity and curvature are also determined on a per vertex basis. Then, contiguous vertices having a characteristic indicating abnormal thicknesses or other abnormal properties are grouped together into separate populations indicative of areas of abnormality. Either as a supplement or an alternative to determining abnormal thicknesses, the computer-implemented method may function to analyze shape characteristics of selected populations of vertices. For example, each population of contiguous vertices may be determined based on a characteristic such as convexity or curvature. Each population is then analyzed to determine a convexity value for each population representing an amount and direction of convexity of the population on the wireframe model. In selected applications, each population may be analyzed according to other selected shape characteristics.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and system are provided for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of a structure having a lumen wherein the rendering is effected by a an adaptive thresholding procedure. A three-dimensional volume of data is formed in a computer from a series of two-dimensional images acquired, for example, by a scanner such as CT-scanner. The acquired images represent at least one physical property associated with the three-dimensional object. A selected region of interest is segmented by the computer from the volume of data based on a selected criteria such as a threshold value of the physical property. The threshold value is adaptively adjusted in the region of interest to control the segmenting of the selected region of interest. An isosurface of a selected region of interest is created by the computer from the volume of data based on selected values, such as the adaptive adjusted thresholds of the physical property representing the selected region of interest. Next, a wireframe model of the isosurface is generated and then rendered in an interactive three-dimensional display.